Why Jesus Always Forgives!

 

Intro

 

How do I know that I’m truly forgiven? Or how many times can I sin before Jesus says, “Okay, I’ve had enough”? The bottom line is that the forgiveness of Jesus never runs out. And it doesn’t run out because you’re so good. The reason He is always forgiving—the main reason, really—is because of His role as High Priest.

 

We know that Jesus is a King—the ultimate King—but He is also, according to Scripture, the ultimate Priest. And when you study the role of the High Priest and how they functioned, you see that they lived to forgive. That’s why in Psalm 110:4, it speaks of the coming Messiah not only being a King but also being a Priest—a High Priest.

 

So, the Messiah is a High Priest. And the reason that’s so important is because everything in the Old Testament regarding High Priests—all the rituals they had to perform, all the details outlined in the Scriptures—weren’t written down just to make a compelling story. They weren’t written in the way they are in the Book of Leviticus simply because it sounded interesting. All the descriptions of how the High Priest functioned were precisely recorded to foreshadow and prophetically parallel what the ultimate High Priest—Jesus—would do for us.

 

That’s why we’re about to dive into Scripture. You’ll see why Jesus is so forgiving as we explore the role of the High Priest. But first, let’s look at a little background—where did the role of the High Priest come from?

The Role of the High Priest

Back in the Old Testament, when God freed the Israelites from Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness. But God didn’t just want to free them from the Egyptians; He wanted to have a relationship with them. However, for the Israelites to have a relationship with God, they would need to be holy, because God is holy. You can only have a relationship with Him and enter His presence if you, too, are holy.

 

Well, there’s a problem. It’s impossible for humans in this life to ever be holy enough to stand before God in a good relationship. So, in the Book of Leviticus, we see that God instituted sacrifices, the tabernacle, and the role of the High Priest.

 

These were all designed so that the Israelites could be free from sin and have a relationship with God.

 

First Role of the High Priest

The High Priest was the only one who could enter the sacred room known as the Holy of Holies. So, what exactly is that?

 

In the Old Testament, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle. The tabernacle was essentially a large tent where God’s presence would sometimes dwell. Inside the tabernacle, there was a special room—a sacred and holy space—called the Holy of Holies. In this room, the High Priest would bring animal sacrifices once a year on the Day of Atonement, symbolizing the sins of the people. After the High Priest made these sacrifices, the people would be freed from sin for the year and could have a relationship with God. They would be considered pure before God.

 

So, how does this relate to Jesus?

 

According to the Bible, everything written about the High Priest entering the sacred, holy room with blood and sacrifices to cleanse people from sin was meant to point to Jesus.

 

And it makes sense. The Bible tells us that Jesus, instead of entering the Holy of Holies with the blood of goats and animals, used His own body—His own blood. And He didn’t enter into a Holy of Holies built with human hands. No, He went to the ultimate Holy of Holies—the throne room of God. He entered the throne room of God and presented His own body and blood on our behalf. And unlike the Old Testament High Priests, who did this once a year, Jesus did it once and for all. He only had to do it once, and that was enough for eternity.

 

This means that just as the High Priest allowed the people to be free from sin for a year, Jesus has freed us from sin forever. Essentially, His death was the ultimate Day of Atonement. If you look at Hebrews 9:7, it explains how the book of Hebrews draws a powerful parallel between the High Priest and Jesus as the ultimate High Priest.

 

Verse 7: “But only the High Priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.”

 

Verse 11: “But when Christ came as High Priest of the good things that are now already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”

 

Second Role of the High Priest

The second role of the High Priest in the Old Testament was to offer both a sin offering and a peace offering. The sin offering represented the removal of sin, while the peace offering symbolized the establishment of a new relationship—a relationship of peace—with God.

 

Before the peace offering could be made, it had to be eaten by the people. It was the only offering they could partake in, and the reason they ate it first was because it represented their participation in a new life of purification.

 

Before the offering was made, the people ate of it to signify their involvement in this new life. Only then would the High Priest offer the offering.

 

Notice how Jesus, before offering His body on the cross, told His followers: “You must eat of this offering.” What was the offering? He said, “You must eat of My body.” This is why we observe Holy Communion—it symbolically represents us partaking in the offering of Jesus’ body and blood, and embracing a new life in Christ. The amazing thing is that, in the Old Testament, when the people ate of the peace offering before the High Priest presented it, they were partaking in an offering that represented their purification, but it would only last for a year. However, when we participate in Holy Communion, we are celebrating a purification of holiness that lasts forever.

Hebrews 9:28:

“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”

The Third Role of the High Priest

The third role of the High Priest was to be the mediator between God and the people. Basically, he would speak to God on behalf of the people, and then God would give the people grace. Now you see why the Bible says that Jesus is the mediator between God and the people. The role of a High Priest is to be the mediator. This is why, when we pray to God, we do it in the name of the ultimate mediator, Jesus. Just like the High Priest in the Old Testament was a mediator and God would show grace because of the High Priest’s role, the Bible says that when we pray—no matter how many times we sin—Jesus speaks to the Father. Our Father died on behalf of us so we can approach Him.

 

If you have sinned or made mistakes, you can confess your sins to Jesus and pray. Then, you can approach God with confidence, knowing there is no shame because the mediator has removed anything that would interfere with your communication. All we have to do is admit our wrongs and strive to do better, and our relationship with God remains as strong as it has ever been. Hebrews 9:15:

 

“For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

The Fourth Role of the High Priest

The fourth role of the High Priest was to teach the people God’s word. The High Priest would instruct the people about God and teach them about the law. This was one of their major responsibilities—they were also teachers.

 

How does that profit your grace? Well, notice how Jesus said that He was our teacher. As the High Priest, His role is to teach. Jesus did all the things a High Priest had to do. Before He offered His body as a sacrifice, He led His disciples to know that before He goes, He will also teach them. How did He teach them? He would leave them His Holy Spirit, which would teach them everything they need to know.

 

This is why, when you receive the Holy Spirit, you receive so much inside revelation. The Bible opens up, and you see things you never saw before.

 

Why? Because Jesus, the great King and High Priest, is teaching you. He’s doing it all. That’s why in John 14:26 it reads:

 

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

 

Jesus was letting His people know: When I go and deal with this sin issue by offering My body and resurrecting on the third day to sit in the presence of the Father in the great Holy of Holies, I will still fulfill My role of teaching you by giving you My Spirit. He is doing it all prophetically and fulfilling His role as the High Priest. And we can keep going. That’s not all.

The Fifth Role of the High Priest

The High Priests had to have high standards to ensure that they were the holiest among the people. Since the High Priest represented God and was the mediator between God and the people when they entered the Holy of Holies with sacrifices, they had to be incredibly holy. You can read all about this in the Book of Leviticus. So, when you read it, you’ll clearly see that the High Priest had to be the holiest person in the area, because they were the ones representing the people before God. They had to be extremely holy.

 

You see, if Jesus was to be the ultimate High Priest, He would have had to be more than just holy—He would have had to be the holiest person ever. Like sin-free. And as we know, He was. He never sinned. He was the holiest person ever, because He is the ultimate High Priest.

Outro

In the Old Testament, you had to be thirty years old before you could become the High Priest. You had to be thirty years old before you could serve God in that way.

 

How old was Jesus when He began His ministry? He was thirty years old. He died when He was 33. But He was thirty years old when He started.

 

You see, all the numbers in the Bible—all the things that happened—weren’t just written for good storytelling. They were precisely recorded with a purpose. Even the numbers. Jesus didn’t just decide to go into ministry when He was thirty, thinking it was a good idea. He knew!

 

Jesus led the way. He knew He was the High Priest, and He knew that the High Priest functioned in ministry at thirty years old. That’s why He began ministry at thirty years old.

Summary

To summarize everything, we see that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest. He lives to forgive, and everything the High Priest did was done to illustrate the role of Jesus—the forgiver—who made it so that we can always have an amazing relationship with God.

 

So never feel that you’ve done anything to keep you from approaching God. Because when God sees you, He sees you with eyes of love and favor. He doesn’t see sin. He doesn’t see something unworthy. When He sees you, He sees holiness. He sees righteousness. He sees goodness. Because you are covered by the blood of Jesus, the King and High Priest, who lives to forgive.